Telegraphic transmitting apparatus



2 Sheets--Sheet 1 (N0 Model.)

M. MARTIN. TELEGRAPHIO TRANSMITTING APPARATUS.

No. 459,013. Patented Sept. 8, 1891;

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(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. M. MARTIN. TBLBGRAPHIO TRANSMITTINGAPPARATUS.

No. 459,013. Patented Sept. 8, 1891.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OEEIcE.

MORRIS MARTIN, OF MALDEN, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR, BY DIRECT AND MESNEASSIGNMENTS, TO THE UNITED STATES ELECTRIC FIRE SIGNAL COMPANY, O FMAINE.

TELEGRAPHIC TRANSMITTING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 459,013, datedSeptember 8 1891.

Application filed July 14, 1890. Serial No. 358,683. (No model.)

To ctZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, MORRIS MARTIN, of Malden, county of Middlesex, Stateof Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in TelegraphicTransmitting Apparatus, of which the following description, inconnection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, likeletters and figures on the drawings representing like parts.

My invention relates to apparatus for transmitting signals or messagesin an electric circuit, and is intended to be operated automati callywhen the message is to be sentas, for example, upon the breaking out ofa fire.

The invention is shown embodied in an automatic fire-alarm-telegraphapparatus, and relates to the transmitting portion, which is located inthe building or group of buildings to be protected, and is caused tooperate to send a signal or message to the signal-receiving station ormain ofiice when the firebreaks out. The message transmitted is of thesame kind as commonly used for fire-alarm signaling, and is produced bya movable signaling- 2 5 surface and motor which sets it in motion, so

as to cause a definite number and arrangementof changes in the cu rrentpassing through said circuit, which in turn produce a correspondingnumber of eltects on the receiving- 0 instrument, and thus make knownthe locality at which the transmitting-instrument is operated, as eachtransmitter in a given circuit produces a different arrangement ofcurrent changes or different signal from all others.

The present invention relates partly to the mechanical construction ofthe detent mechanism for controlling the starting and stopping of thesignaling-surface, which will be hereinafter referred to as thebreak-wheel, and the means for controlling the motor also comprisingelectric circuits and instruments therein, which are, however,independent of the main or transmitting curcuit in which the signal ofthe break-wheel is transmitted. The motor is provided with a detent orstopping device arranged to be tripped by the action of the armatures ofany one of a number of different electro-inagnets. In this instancethree of such electro-magnets are employed. 5c The said electro-magnetsare connected with an electric circuit which extends throughout thedifferent parts of the building or group of buildings to be protected,and is provided with thermostatic instruments, which when operated by arise in temperature above the 5 5 normal temperature of the building, asby the breaking out of a fire, cause a change in thesaid circuit, andthus cause the electromagnets connected therewith to be operated. Thiscircuit, which will be called the conoc trolling-circuit to distinguishit from the main or transmitting circuit, is normally closed, and theseveral electro-magnets connected with the instrument normally holdtheirarmatures attracted and are so arranged that when one of thearmatures is released by its magnet it falls away from the field thereofso far that it cannot be attracted again by the subsequent energizing ofthe magnet, and such falling movement also starts the motor of thebreak-wheel that governs the main circuit. If but a single magnet wereemployed to control the motor and such magnet were operated to releasethe motor upon the breaking of the circuit or demagnetization 7 of themagnet, it is obvious that any accidental break in the circuit or otherderangement-such as a ground orcross connection- -wouid cause the magnetto be demagnetized,

which would cause the motor to be started and 8c the fire-alarm signalto be sent.

As accidental breaks or derangements in the circuit occur with somefrequency, there would be danger of a large number of false alarms beingsent if the simple arrangement of a detent-controlling magnet in anormallyclosed circuit were employed to control the motor. One of themain objects of the present invention is to diminish as far as possiblethe liability to the transmission of false 0 alarms by the derangementof the circuit, and in order to accomplish this result in accordancewith this invention the exposed portion of the circuit-that is, the partthat extends through the building and is provided with thermostat-s forautomatically controlling itis divided into branches, herein shown astwo in number, each of which contains one of the controlling or startingmagnets, so that the breakage of either one of these branches demagnetizes its corresponding magnet, which,

as before stated, sets the motor in operation; but a breakage of onebranch only does not demagnetize the magnet in the other branch,

nor does it open-circuit the battery, the current of which still has acircuit through the other branch. The signal produced by the motor insuch operation as occurs when one only of the starting-magnets releasesit is what may be called an incomplete signal,

as will be hereinafter explained, and produces a different message atthe receivingstation from that produced by the action of a fire on thethermostat; but it is of value, as

it calls attention to the fact that the circuit at thetransmitting-station is deranged by having one of its branches broken.If, however, a fire breaks out, since both branches extend throughpractically the same space, the

thermostats in each will be affected by the fire, and consequently bothbranches will be opened by their thermostats and both detentcontrollingmagnets will drop their armatures, and the controlling-circuit will becompletely :5 open. This release of both armatures does not, however,produce any different mechanical effect upon the transmitter from thatproduced by the release of only one of said armatures; but it causes adifferent message to be sent, constituting a complete fire-alarmmessage, which shows not only the location of the transmitter-that is,indicates the location of a building or group of buildings in which afire has broken outbut also shows the par- 3 5 ticular part of abuildingor group of buildings in which the thermostats have been operated. Thetwo branches of the controlling-circuit after passing through theseparate magnets come together and pass as a single circuit through arelay-magnet which controls the main transmitting-circuit in a mannerwhich will be hereinafter described. Thus as long as either branch ofthe controlling-circuit is complete the said relay-magnet will remain 5energized and will produce no effect on the main circuit, thetransmitting break-wheel in p which will send the signal correspondingto the building-number only. \Vhen, however, both branches are broken,the said relay-magnet will be thrown into open circuit and its armaturewill be retracted and thereby transmit an impulse into the main circuit,which will, however, be timed so as not to interfere with the mainsignal produced by the break- Wheel, but will cause an addition to thesaid main signal, and the motor that operates the main break-wheel alsooperates a movable signaling-surface co-operating with thecontrolling-circuit and so arranged as to govern the operation of saidrelay, causing its armature to produce a greater or less number ofmovements, and consequently to transmit a greater or less number ofimpulses or circuit changes into the main line, according as thebranches are broken in one or another portion of the building. This lastresult is attained as follows: The controlling branches are eachcomposed of loops extending into the different parts of the buildingfas,for example, one to each floorand the said loops are brought back to thetransmitting-instru ment and connected with separate contact-springs,which will, for convenience, be referred to as constituting a regularseries, the first loop passing to the first floor of the building,having its ends connected, for example, with springs 1 and 2, the secondloop extending through the second floor of the building, having its endsconnected with springs 2 and 3, and so on. The springs co-operate with adrum connected with the circuit beyond the meetingpoint of the branchesand having projections that make and break contact with the series ofsprings consecutively in the rotation of the drum. Thus if both branchesare opened in the third loop, for example, or between the third andfourth springs, the operation is as follows: The opening of bothbranches opens the circuit of the relay,before mentioned, and then asthe drum begins to rotate it makes contact first with the first spring,and as the circuit is complete up to said spring it continues from thespring to the drum and onto the relay, energizing the same and producinga closed impulse in said relay, which is transmitted by the relay to themain line. As the second projection on the drum passes the secondspring, the same operation is repeated, as the controlling-circuit iscomplete up to thesecond spring. The same operation takes place when thethird projection passes the third spring; but when the fourth projectionpasses the fourth spring no effect is produced on the relay, as bothbranches are broken before arriving at the fourth spring, so thatcontact of the fourth spring with the drum cannot close the circuitthrough the relay, as is the case with the preceding springs. If thereare more than four springs in the series, all beyond the fourth willproduce no effect, as the complete break in both branches of thecontrolling-circuit in the loop between the third and fourth springsthrows all beyond the third spring into open circuit. The projections onthe drum are so arranged with relation to the signaling-surface of thebreakwheel that sends the signal for the general locality that all theimpulses transmitted into the main circuit through the agency of thedrum and relay will take place at the time that the break-wheel is notproducing its breaks in the main circuit, and with the arrangement justdescribed the signal produced by the springs, drum, and relay will be aseries of dots, if the Morse register receiving apparatus is used, as iscommonly the case, the number of which corresponds to the number of theloop in which the two branches of the controlling-circuit have beenopened by the action of the thermostats.

For convenience the signal of the main break-wheel will be referred toas the building-number, and the signal produced by the springs and thedrum and relay controlled IOC thereby will be called the floor-number,and from the description previously given it is evident that if only oneof the branches of the controlling-circuit is broken the building-numberonly will be transmitted, while if both branches are broken in a givenloop the building-number followed or preceded by the floor-number willbe sent, and consequently the reception of a signal containing bothfloor and building numbers will be understood as indicating that a firehas broken out in the floor of the building thus indicated, while if thebuilding-nu mber aloneis received it will be understood that somederangement of the circuit other than that produced by the breaking outof a fire has taken place, and the proper inspection and repairs may bemade as soon as convenient.

As it may frequently happen that the thermostats in both branches willnot be operated by the rise in temperature at the same moment, it Wouldresult that when the first branch was opened the motor would begin tooperate the same as for a broken line, and a thermostat in the otherbranch might not be operated until the motor had nearly completed itsrun for a single signal. To provide for such emergengy and insure thatthe full message shall be repeated the desired number of times after thesecond thermostat has been operated, the detent of the motor is soconstructed that when released by the operation of one of thecontrolling-magnet armatures it will run so as to turn the breakwheel adefinite number of times or give what is called a certain number ofrounds or repetitions of the signal in this instance four and will thenbe automatically stopped if no other of the controlling-magnets has beenoperated in the meantime; but if a second controlling-magnet should beoperated, as by the breaking of the second branch, the effect of itsarmature on the detent mechanism will be such that the motor will makeits complete operation of four rounds after the second armature has beenoperated, so that if at any time one of the branches becomes opened,either by accidental breakage or by the action of a fire at someconsiderable period of time in advance of the other, the motor will runits full course, owing to the release effected by the magnet sooperated, and will then stop, having transmitted the buildingnumberonly; but when the second magnet is operated by the opening of thesecond branch the motor will again start and run its full course,transmitting the full fire-alarm signal or giving both the building-11 unibcr and the floor-number, and it is only when both branches are openthat the proper firealarm signal can be given, and as an accidentalbreak or rupture of the wiring would rarely occur in both branches atthe same time there is only a very small possibility of a falsefire-alarm being transmitted. As shown in this instance, thecontrolling-circuit has one terminal connected with the ground and thenpasses through the battery, from which the two branches are extended,each in the several loops, through the several sections or floors of thebuilding or structure to be protected and are then brought together andcarried as a single line through the relay, beyond which the circuitpasses through another magnet, which also controls the detent-motor, andis then grounded, preferably, through a different ground connection fromthe one at the other end of the battery-line, one connection being, forexample, made with the gas-piping and the other with the water-piping ofthe building. By this arrangement if a ground connection should come tothe line anywhere between the battery, which is near one groundconnection, and the detent-comtrolling magnet last referred to, which isnear the other groundterminal of the line, the current will be divertedfrom the last-mentioned or grounded magnet, as it will be called,causing the same to be demagnetized and to release the motor, whichwould run and transmit the buildingnumber only, thus calling attentionto this derangement of the wires.

Figure 1 is a plan view of a transmitter embodying this invention; Fig.2, a front elevation thereof; Fig. Z3,a sectional view showing thedetent mechanism of the motor mainly in end elevation and in normalposition; Fig. 4, a detail showing the detent mechanism in the positionoccupied when the motor is just released and set into operation; Fig. 5,a similar view showing the parts in the position occupied just as themotor is finishing its movement and is about to be re-engaged andstopped by the detent; Fig. 6,a sectional detail on line m, Fig. 1; Fig.7, an end elevation of the break-wheel and drum, and Fig. 8 a diagramshowing the circuit connections of the various parts.

The motor a consists of a clock-work or train of wheel-Work of usualconstruction, shown in this instance as actuated bya mainspring (B,which drives a gear a meshing with a pinion a on the shaft I), providedwith a gear (0, forming a portion of the governingtrain, whichterminates in an escape-wheel a, (see Fig. 2,) controlled by an anchoror pallets a which are vibrated by the teeth of the escapewheel a whenthe motor is running. The said pallets a are connected with the shaft aprovided with a stop-finger (0 which is controlled by a stop projection0, constituting the primary detent or stopping and Starting device ofthe motor. When the pin 0 engages with either side of the finger a", asshown in Fig. 2, it prevents the vibration of the shaft and pallets, andthe latter lock the escape-wheel, and thus preventthe motor fromrunning; but when the said projection c is raised above the path ofvibration of the finger a the latter is released and permits the motorto run until the said projection c is again dropped into the path ofvibration of the end of the arm a and again arrests the motor. Theshaft 1) of the train before referred to is the one that drives thesignalingsurface of the apparatus shown as a breakwheel b governing themain transmittingcircuit, as will be hereinafter described, and the saidshaft also drives the drum d, which, in connection'with suitablecontact-springs 6 e &c., controls the operation of the relaymagnet whichtransmits the floor-number into the main circuit when a fire is brokenout.

For convenience'of construction the motor a, Figs. 1 and 2, is containedin a separate frame-work from that which supports the shaft 19 of thebreak-wheel b and drum d, the said shaft 12 being connected with theshaft 1) of the motor by a suitable clutch device, (shown in Figs. 2, 3,and 4,) as a transverse pin f in the end of the shaft 1), which pinengages wit-h a slotin the end of the shaft Z2 as shown in Fig. 2, whenthe motor-frame a is connected with the frame that supports the bearingfor the shaft b The latter frame is mainly in the form of a box g, (seeFigs. 1, 2, and 3,) at the front of which are supported the severalmagnets h, ha, 71 and i, the magnets h and 72/ being the ones includedin the two branches of the controlling-circuit, as will be hereinaftermore fully explained with reference to the diagram. Themagnet h isincluded between the junction of said branches and the ground, being themagnet that is affected by a ground connection on thecontrolling-circuit, as before explained,while the magnet 2' is therelaymagnet that is included in the controlling.

circuit beyond the junction of its branches and is controlled by thedrum (Z and springs e, and'in turn by its armature transmits thecorresponding impulses into the main circuit governed by the break-wheel19 So far as the mechanical construction is concerned the magnets h 71,2h are alike and all in the same relation to the actuating-motor a, eachof said magnets controlling the device that effects the disengagement ofthe detent We of the motor before mentioned. This disengagement of thedetent and its subsequent control are effected by the followingmechanism, (best shown in Figs. 3, 4, and 5:) The magnets h h 77, arearranged in a row on the frame g, as shown, and the armature of each issupported at the end of a lever 7;, (see Fig. 3,) extending into thesaid box and pivoted at 75 therein in such manner that when thecorresponding magnet is demagnetized its armature falls by gravity or isotherwise retracted, turning the said lever 7s from full to the dottedline position, Fig. The armature-levers 7c ofthe three magnets h 7L2 hare all alike, and the portion of said levers at the rear of theirpivots stands beneath a plate or blade on, extending lengthwise of theframe 9 and pivoted at m in such position that the upward movement ofthe arm A33 of any one of said levers will turn the said blade from thefull to the dotted line position on its pivot. The said levers 7e areprovided at their extremities with dogs or pawls M, which are shown asweighted and pivoted in such manner that in the upward movement of saidpawls produced by the dropping of the armatures the said pawls willengage the blade m and turn the same, as shown 5 but when the levers 7care moved back from the dotted to the full line position the dogs 70will pass down by the plate on without moving thelatter. l/Vhen one ofthe magnets h 7L2 77, is demagnetized and the corresponding armaturepermitted to drop, the said armature falls so far as to be substantiallyout of .the field of the magnet, and consequently remains in its droppedposition, whatever may be the condition of the magnet, until it isrestored by hand or some other means than the normal attraction of themagnet. The dropping of any armature-lever it rocks the plate mmomentarily from the full to the dotted line position; but in thismovement the dog k passes by the edge of the plate 071, so that thelatter immediately after being rocked to the dottedline position ispermitted to fall back to its full-line position, and if another of thearmaturelevers k is dropped the same operation on the plate m will berepeated, and so on, the plate at being operated by each armatureleverindependently of the condition of the others when such operation takesplace. The plate on in its rocking movement engages an arm n ofadetent-trippinglevern ,fulcrumed at n and engaged with the detent-arm 0that carries the detent. projection c, which engages and controls theother detent member a as best shown in Fig. 2. The said detentarm 0 ispivoted at c on the end of the motorframe-work and is provided witha'projection 0 shown in this instance as the end of a screw which may beadjusted as required and which rests over the end of the actuating-lever72?, so that the said arm 0 is raised whenever the lever m is operatedby the plate m upon the movement of said plate produced by the droppingof one of the magnet-armatures. m is only moved momentarily and thelever 72 has the same momentary operation, so that it only lifts thedetent-arm c for an instant, and if the latter were controlled only bythe lever 11 it would immediately fall back and re-engage the detent ca, so that the motor would only run for an instant. The detent-arm 0when actuated by the lever 01 is immediately placed under control of thecontrolling mechanism, which retains the detent disengaged for adefinite period of time of rnnningof the motor, and at the end thereofcauses the said detent to be again engaged and the motor to be stopped.To effect this controlling of the detent, the arm 0 is connected by alink 0 with a controlling-arm c, which is itself governed by a movablepatterned controlling or supporting device 0, the said arm 0 having aprojection 0 that rests on said controlling device 0 and normallyengages with a deep notch or shoulder 0 on said controlling device 0, asshown in Fig. 3, per- As before stated, the plate IIO mitting the arm 0to drop low enough to engagethedetent. Thesaiddeviceois Weighted orprovided with an extension 0 which tends to cause it to rotate on itssupporting pin or hub 0, on which it is loosely hung, in the directionof the arrow, Fig. 3, and the moment the arm c is raised, as beforedescribed, by the lifting of the detent-arm c the said device 0 turns bygravity in the direction of the arrow to the position shown in Fig. 4,in which it is arrested by a long shoulder o striking on the projectionc of the arm a, and said arm a will thus be supported on the toothedhigh part 0 between the outward shoulder 0 and the inward shoulder 0until the device 0 is turned in a direction opposite to the arrow, so asto bring the notch 0 again under the projection 0 i In order to insurethe dropping of the controlling device from the position shown in Fig. 3to that shown in Fig. 2, when the arm 0 is raised by the momentaryaction of the actuator of and on one or more additional supports p19 areem ployed,wh'ich bear against the end of the arm 0", as shown in Fig.I}, and are acted upon by a spring so as to immediately fall under theend of the said arm, as shown in Fig. et, when said arm is raised, theysupporting the arm with the projection c a trifle above the highest partof the supporting device 0, so that the latter is free to turn bygravity in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 3, until arrested by thestill higher shoulder 0", as shown in Fig. i.

The turning back of the controller 0 from the position shown in Fig. Jrto that shown in Fig. 3, so that the projection 6 1113) drop into thenotch o and stop the motor, is effected as follows: The mechanism beingso constructed that it requires a definite number of complete rotationsof the shaft b b, and consequently of complete rounds of the breakwheelb before such stopping of the motor can take place, this dropping of thedetent-controlling arm 0 and the connected detent-arm c is effected by aprojection Z)" on the shaft Z), which, as the motor runs immediatelyafter its detent is disengaged, travels around andlirst acts upon thearm 9 of the highest support 11 (the said arms 17* constituting anelbow-lever) and rocks the said lever so as to carry the projection 11out from beneath the end of the arm 0 which then drops by gravity ontothe end of the projection 19, the arm p of which is shortly afterengaged by the projection b and operated in the same manner, droppingthe arm c until its projection c rests upon the surface o at the side ofthe shoulder 0".

The two arms 1) p are employed for a greater certaintyin catching thearm 0 when suddenly raised, since if it fails to be caught by the arm pit will certainly be caught by the arm 1) and supported until thecontroller 0 can be dropped back. After the projection c is thus broughtupon the surface 0 the arm b, in continuing its movemen engages with aprojection or toot-h o of the controller 0 and turns the same in thedirection opposite the arrow far enough to carry the shoulder or tooth0* of the surface 0 past the projection u, which then drops at the sideof the shoulder or tooth o and sustains the controller after the arm I)has passed the tooth 0 This movement has brought another tooth at thelower part of the controller into the path of the arm Z), which at theend of the next rotation engages the said tooth and moves the controlleralong a step farther, where it is engaged by the next tooth of thesurface 0, and in this manner the controlleris turned back step by stepat each rotation of the break-wheel shaft from the position shown inFig. 4: to that shown in Fig. 3, and the num ber of teeth to be engagedby the arm 11 and the corresponding number of holding-teeth on thesupporting part 0 determine the number of rotations of the shaft 1) thatwill take place after the motor is started before it is stopped by there-engagement of the detent.

If the final dropping of the arm 0 were of fected solely by the movementof the supporting-surface 0 produced by the arm I)", great nicely inconstruction would be required to have the arm c drop over its shoulderjust at the instant that the arm I)" had ceased acting upon the lasttooth or shoulder at the under side of the controller, as if it droppedbefore the arm b had passed the said arm I) would engage the controllerand prevent its falling back immediately after the next rise of thed6l'6l1lZ-OODtlOl1ll'lg arm, while, on the other hand, if the arm I)should pass its notch before it had quite carried the shoulder o by theprojection o the latter would not be dropped and the controller 0 wouldfall back to the tooth preceding the shoulder 0 In order to prevent thisoperation, a secondary support is provided, consisting of a weighted dog0', which normally, while the motor is running, hangs on the samesupport 0 as the controller o, with its upper end r beneath theprojecting pin 0 on the arm 0, as shown in Fig. 5, and the arm I) isarranged to engage with the under part of the controller until itsshoulder o is carried well past the projection 0 which then drops intoengagement with the upper end of said shoulder 0 as shown in Fig. 5, butis arrested by the support r before it falls deep enough past theshoulder 0 to permit the engagement of the detent. The arm I) in itsrotation engages the lower end of the supporting-dog r and turns thesame on its supporting-pivot, as will be understood by a comparison ofFigs. 4E and 5, until it carries the end 0- from beneath the pin 0 asshown in Fig. 3, when the arm 0 is permitted to drop to the bottom ofthe notch or shoulder o and the detent is brought into re-engagement.This secondary stop or support 1' for the controlling-arm c insures theaccurate stopping of the motor with the break-wheel shaft at exactly thesame point in its rotation at every operation. By the operation of thisdevice it any one of the armatures of the magnets h 71 h is dropped thedetent will be disengaged by the actuating arm m and will then "beretained disengaged by the control ling mechanism 0 until the shaft 1)of the break-wheel has made a definite number of rotationsin this casefourwhen the detent will be again engaged and the motor stopped; but ifat any time after the motor has thus completed its run and been stopped,or at any time while it is making its run of four rounds, another of themagnet-armatures is dropped it will again throw the arm 0 up onto thesupport of the arms 1) p permitting the controller o to fall back againto its starting-point, (shown in Fig. 4,) so that the motor will run forfour complete rounds of the break-wheel after the last magnet isoperated. The purpose of this construction will be best understood uponreference to the circuit arrangement shown in Fig.8, which is asfollows: The several magnets h, 71?, its, andz' are all 0perated by thecontrolling circuit and current of the battery B therein. One pole ofsaid battery is connected with the ground, (indicated at 2,) While theother pole is connected with wire 3, which is divided into two branches4 5, which pass through the coils of the mag nets h 712, respectively,and are then connected with the springs e e, from which they extendthrough one portion of the structure to be protectedas, for example, thefirst floor of abuildingand are provided with a number of thermostats TT which may be of any suitable or usual construction, being arrangednormally to keep the circuit closed, but to open the same when exposedto a temperature somewhat greater than can exist under the normalcondition of things, so that they will be operated to break the circuitwhen a fire breaks out. The two branches 4 in a given floor are soarranged that the thermostats T T are about equally exposed to the heatof the fire; but the circuit-wires are so carried that any action thatwould be likely to break one would not be likely to affect the other, sothat an accidental break or rupture of the circuitwire would affect onlyone of the branches 4 or 5, while, on the otherhand, if a fire shouldbreak out both branches would soonbeopenedbytheirrespectivethermostats,although, of course, one might and probably would be opened a shortperiod of time before i the other. The branch 4 after passing throughthe first floor is carried back to the transmitting-instrument andconnected with the second spring 6 of the series, and is also carried onfrom said spring, as seen at 14, to the next portion of the building tobe protectedas, for example, the second floor-from which it returns tothe third spring 6 and is then carried to the next section, as shown at24, and brought back to the next spring 6 and so on for as many spacesor sections as the building, structure,or group of buildings to beprotected may be divided into. The other branch 5 is also carried, asshown at 15 and 25, through tation of the said drum.

the second and third floor spaces, and, in fact, to all the spacesthrough which the branch 4 14, &c., is carried, having the same relativearran gement in each space that has already been described for theportions 4 5 of the branches. For the most perfect operation the loops 515 25 are carried back to the transmitting-instrument and connected withsprings e e 6 dsc, as shown in dotted lines, Fig. 8, the said springsbeing arranged to make pairs with springs e 6 6 &c., so that the teethor projections z of the drum d will touch both springs of each pairsimultaneously. It is not absolutely essential, however, to theoperation that both branches should be carried back to the transmitter,and the branch 5 15 25 might be made with only the portions shown infull lines, the springs e e 6 &c., being omitted. After passing to thelast spring 6 of the series, Fig. 8, the branches 4 14 24 and 5 15 25unite and are extended, as shown at 8, through the coils of therelaymagnet i, from which the circuit is extended, as shown at 9, to oneterminal of the groundmagnet 77. theotherterminal of which is connected,as shown at 10, with the ground. The ground connections 2 and are madethrough spring-contacts it? and their corresponding anvil-pieces i t",the purpose and mode of operation of which will be hereinafterexplained. The wire 8 between thejunc- Lion of the branches and therelay '4' is connected by wire 12 with a contact-spring it, that makeselectrical contact with the drum (:1 or an extension thereof during theentire re- The result of this arrangement is as follows: hen the entirecircuit 2 3 and the branches 4 14 24 and 5 25 and the continuation S 910 are complete and intact and the magnets h, 7L2, its, and t' allremain energized and the motor remains locked, if any of the unbranchedpart of the line 3 or 8 F) 10 breaks all of the magnets will bedemagnetized and the motor will be set running, causing the break-wheelb the construction of which will be hereinafter briefly described,totransmit its signal into the main line 30. The unbranched portions 2 38 9 10 of the line are, however, located at or near the transmittinginstrument and may be thoroughly protected, so that an accidentalrupture in these portions rarelyoceurs and scarcely requires to beprovided for, although the receipt of a message giving thebuildingnumber at the central station should as a rule be promptlyattended to by sending an inspector to repair theline at the buildingfrom which such signal has been received. The branches- 4 14 and 515,&c., however, have to be extended for a considerable length, and aretherefore morelikelytobeaccideutallybroken. A break in one of these branchesas, for example, the branch 5 15 will demaguetize the magnet 71, inthat branch; but the magnet 77, will remain energized, as the currentstill fiowsthrough the unbroken branch 4 14 24, and the circuit throughthe magnets 2' and It will remain substantially the same as before, Theresult of this operation is that the dropping of the armature of themagnet 71 sets the motor in operation, as before described, and thebreak-wheel 1) sends the buildi ng-n u mber; but the relay-magnet '11 isnot affected, and no further effect on the main line 20 30 is producedthan that of the break-wheel b Assuming, however, that the break wasoccasioned by the action of a fire on the thermostats and occurred firstin the loop 25 of the branch 5 15 25, the operation would be of courseat first the same, as just described, as produced by an accidentalbreaking of said branch; but after a short period of time one of thethermostats in the loop 24: of the other branch would respond to theincrease in temperature, so that this branch also would be broken, thuscompletely opening the circuit of the battery B and causing therelay-mag net 2' to be deinagnetized, as well as the magnet h and themagnet 71 The dropping of the armature of the magnet h, either alone oraccompanied by the armature of the magnet h would cause thedetent'controller o to fall back to the position shown in Fig. 4, asbefore described, so that the motor would run the four complete roundsafter the first time that it passed its starting-point after thedropping of the second magnet-armature. The break-wheel b would continueoperating as before and there would be the following additional effecton the relay-magnet i: The said magnet i, as before stated, would bedemagnetized upon the breaking of the second branch, although it wouldnot be affected by the breaking of one branch only. Then as the drumrotated its projections would pass and make contact with the springs c ee c consecutively, the said projections being so arranged as to breakcontact with one spring before making contact with the next. As a resultof this operation, when a projection of the drum made contact with thespring 6 the circuit of the battery B would be completed through therelay r by wires 2 3 4, spring 6, drum (Z, spring u, wires 12, S, 9, and10, and the relay-armature would be attracted as long as the projectionof the drum (Z made contact with the spring 6. Then as it passed thesaid spring the relay-armature would be retracted, and as the nextprojection made contact with the spring 6 the relay would again beenergized, the circuit being the same as before, except that it includesthe first loop between the wire 3 and the spring 6 said loop not havingbeen broken. As the third projection passes the spring 0 the relay willagain be energized, the circuit then including the unbroken loop 14; butwhen it passes the spring e no effect will be produced on the relay, asthe circuit of the battery 13 is eon1- pletely broken in both branchesbefore arriving at the spring 6 Thus the armature of the relay-magnet 1'makes a number of vibrations or movements corresponding to the number ofloops in the branches which are intact, and said movements of thearmature are employed to transmit corresponding impulses into themailrlinc circuit 20 30, the said number of impulses corresponding tothe number of loops in which both branches of the circuit are broken,and thus giving a signal which is the number of the floor or section ofthe building in which the fire has broken out.

The way in which the different signals are transmitted into themain-line circuit is as follows: The said circuit and the arrangement ofthe receivinginstruments therein form the subject of anotherapplicationfor Letters Patent, Serial No. 358,682, filed July 14, 1890, and it issufficient for an understanding of the present case to explain that themain line 20 30 extends to a receiving-station and is provided with areceiving instrument, or instruments, which responds to breaks in theline 20 30 when the latter is in the condition of a closed metalliccircuit. disconnected from the ground, and said instruments, or one ofthem, also respond when the main line 20 30 is connected with the groundand the ground connection is broken and closed in accordance with thecurrcnt-impulses to be transmitted. The break-wheel 11 when sending thebuilding-number alone, produces both these effects, so that the signalis received by the line when intact and in working condition on themetallic'circuit instrument, and if the linecxtendingfromoneside of thebreak-wheel to the central office is broken the said message is receivedover the ground-circuit through the line at the other side ofthebreak-wheel. This result is effected by the construction ofbreak-wheel best shown in Fig. 7. The por-. tions 20 30 of the main lineentering at the two sides of the stations are connected with two springsu: 10 which normally rest in contact with the surface of the break-wheelb and are thus connected,keeping the metallic circuit closed. hen thebreak-wheel is set in motion, a series of notches U, corresponding tothe number of the signal, (in this instance 23,) pass beneath thesprings, thus causing them to become electrically separated, so as tocause breaks in the metallic circuit, which produce the correspondingsignal at the receiving-station. Immediately after these notches havepassed the springs in n and while the latter remain in contact with thesurface of the break-wheel a number of projections b on the latter,corresponding to the arrangement of the notches, pass a contactspring 10connected by abranch wire 31, Fig. 8, with the ground, and thus produce,as shown in this instance, the same number and arrangement of closuresin the grounded circuit that the notches produce breaks in the metalliccircuit, although it is obvious that the breaks and closures might bereversed, if desired. After both notches If and projections 1) havepassed the corresponding springs there is a sufficient portion of theperiphery of the break-wheel which has to pass in contact with thesprings to 10 before the notches come around at the end of the rotationof the said sp to afford time for the reception of the floor-numbersignal,if such signal is to be sent. This floor-number signal isproduced by the movement of the armature-lever t of the relay-magnet i,if said relay is affected by the controlling circuit and drum d andsprings 6 e as before described, as follows: The said armature-lever tis connected by wire 32 with the break-wheel W, as by a spring 10 whichrests in contact with the said break-wheel during the entire rotationthereof. One of the stops (in this instance the front stop i of therelay-armature lever i is adapted to be connected by wire 33 34 35 withthe ground in'case the building-number is to be transmitted, so that insuch event the attractive movements of the armature 1' produced inresponse to the action of the projections of the drum (1 and springs 6 6as before described, will produce a number of closed impulses in theground branch 32 S3 34 35, which will be received the same as thoseproduced by the projections Z) in the ground branch 31. If therelay-armature were arranged to close on its back stop, it would keepthe ground on the main line all the time, except when the teethcorresponding to the springs e 6 &c., up to the loop that was openedwere passing the said springs, which would produce an objectionablerecord, while if it closed upon the front stop and the latter wereconnected directly and permanently with the ground it would remainclosed all the time when the motor was operated without causing the.relay to respond, as is the case when the accidental derangement of thecontrolling -line occurs. This would also be objectionable, and in orderto cause the relay to send closed impulses only in response to the drum(Z and springs e 6 &c., the ground connection from the front stop 2'includes contact-springs h 7L7, which co-operate with the armatures 7cof the magnets 7L 7L2, the said armature being electrically connected bythe metallic framework, as indicated at Stin the diagram, while thesprings 7t 71,7 are insulated from said frame-work and disconnected fromsaid armatures when the latter are attracted, as shown in Fig. 3,- oneof said springs being connected by wire 35 with the ground and theotherby wire 33 with the relay-contact i It thus requires the droppingof the armatures of both magnets h if to connect the ground branch 33 3t35 of the main circut 20 30, so as to make the relay-armature operativeto transmit into the main line, and as it is only when the armatures ofboth magnets h h have been released that the building-number is to betransmitted, and as it is only under these conditions that therelay-armature will respond, it is obvious that the floornumber will betransmitted with certainty, in addition to the building-number, over themain line 20 30. As the magnet 7&3 is connected with the ground near theend of the controlling'circuit remote from the battery, a groundconnection made at any point on the said circuit will short-circuit thesaid magnet, which will drop its armature and cause the motor to start;but as the magnets h h are placed in thebattery-circuit near the batterythey will not be shunted by a ground connection on the exposed part ofthe branches. The relay 2 would also be demagnetized by the grounding ofthe circuit; but this would produce no effect on thereceiving-instrument, and the motor would run and turn in thebuilding-number by the break-wheel b the same as for an accidental breakin the controlling-line.

In order to bring the relay iinto circuit again in case it has beenshunted by a grounding action on the controlling circuit, the switch 25is employed, the same consisting of an elbow-lever having one armdivided into two prongs which normally stand disconnected from thesprings #6 as shown in full lines, Fig. 6. The other arm 25 of saidelbowlever is in position to be acted upon by a cam i on the shaft 12 ofthe drum,which cam immediately after the motor is set in motion acts onthe said arm 17, which is shown as provided with a friction-roll, andturns the switch it so that its prongs lift the springs t i from theirground-contacts t t, and at the same time connect the said springs 25 tto gether, thus making a direct metallic connection between theterminals 2 10 ofthecircuit of the battery B, which will then work as ametallic circuit unaffected by the single ground-contact that hasaccidentally been made with it. The switch 25 bears with sufficientfriction upon the springstzf to remain in engagement therewith after thecam has passed them, so that aft-er the building-number has been sent inby the action of the ground-magneth", showing a disabling of the line,the circuit of the battery B will remain as a metallic circuit and willoperate the same as the ground-circuit before described to againtransmit the building-number if one of the branches should becomeaccidentally broken, or to transmit the building-number, followed by thefloor-number, if both branches should be broken. 7 r

The advantage of carrying the loops 5 15 25 ot' the second branch to thesprings e e 6 &c., is as follows: If either branch should be brokenaccidentally-for example, in loop 1and a fire should subsequently breakout in loop 3, the latter flo0r-number-namely, 3- would surely betransmitted, as the battery B would find a circuit through one or theother of the branches up to the third loop, and consequently the drumwould transmit three impulses to the relay-magnet 2', causing the latterto transmit the correct floor-number. If, however, only one of thebranches should have its loop extended to the transmitter, as shown infull lines, and that branch should become accidentally broken, forexample, in the first loop or in any loop nearer the battery than theone in which a fire might subsequently break out, then if the secondloop should be opened by a tire the floor-number transmit ted would bethat corresponding to the loop which was accidentally broken and not theone corresponding to the location of the fire, as the circuit throughthe springs and drum would be complete only up to the break nearest thebattery. In other words, in either arrangement it requires the openingof both branches to cause the relay to respond, and where but one branchis carried to the transmitter-drum it will always transmit the number ofthe loop in that branch nearest the battery that is broken, if ithappens to be broken in more than one loop,while if both branches arecarried to the drum and are broken one in one loop and the other inanother loop more remote from the battery the floor-number correspondingto the last-mentioned loop will be transmitted. Such inaccuracies,however, are of not much consequence, as the essential thing is todistinguish between fire-alarms and what may be called disabled-linealarms, which is done with certainty, except in case both branchesshould be accidentally broken,which would be a rare occurrence. Usuallywhen the line is in normal condition a thermostat in one branch willalmost certainlybe operated in advance of one in the otherbranch, sothat the fire-alarm commonly received consists of one or two rounds ofthe building-number alone, followed by four rounds consisting of thebuilding-number followed by the floornumber. The armature of the magnet7L3 is provided with a considerably stronger retractor than that of theother armature, so that if the battery 1) weakens the said armature willbe released and cause the transmission of the building-number, and alsocause the battery to be put in metallic circuit, while thebatterystrength is still sufficient to prop crly operate the othermagnets 7t, 77?, and i.

The apparatus may be modified in various ways as to mechanicalconstruction, and the invention in its main features is not limited tothe specific details of construction herein shown.

I claim- 1. The combination of a motor and detent therefor with twoelectro-magnets and armatures, each operatively connected with themotor-detent, and a circuit having two normally-closed branches, eachincluding the coils of one of said detentnnagnets and being extendedthrough an exposed locality and containing thermostaticcircuit-controllers therein, as set forth, whereby the breaking of oneof said branches atfects'the corresponding magnet and causes it torelease the motor-detent, but a breakage of both of said branches isrequired to completely open the said circuit, substantially asdescribed.

The combination of the motor and its detent with two detent-operatingelectro-magnets and armatures included in two branches from abattery-circuit, and an electro-magnet included in an unbranched portionof said circuit, a signaling-surface operated by said motor, andcontacts co-operating therewith connected with one or both of saidbranches, said signaling-surface and contacts governing the currentthrough the last-mentioned magnet when both said branches of thebatterycircuit are opened, substantially as described.

3. The combination of a motor and detent therefor with three magnets andarmatures, each governing the operation of said detent, and a circuitfor the said magnets having two branches, one of which passes firstthrough the coils of one of said magnets and the other of which passesfirst through the coils of the other of said magnets, said branchesbeyond said magnets being each provided with a series ofcircuit-breakers beyond which said branches are joined together, thecircuit be yond this junction passing through the coils of the thirdmagnet, substantially as and for the purpose described.

a. The combination of a motor and detent therefor with three magnets andarmatures, each governing the operation of said detent, and a circuitfor the said magnets including a battery having one terminal connectedwith the ground and its other terminal connected with two branches whichpass first each through the coils of one of said magnets and beyond saidmagnets are each provided with a series of circuit-breakers beyond whichsaid branches are joined together, the circuit beyond this junctionpassing through the coils of the third magnet and to the ground, and aswitch operated by said motor that removes the ground connections andplaces the terminals of the circuit adjacent to said ground connectionsin metallic connection, substantially as and for the purpose described.

5. The combination of the motor and its detent with two detent-operatingelectro-magnets and armatures and a relay magnet and armature, acontrolling-circuit including a battery and having two branches passingthrough the coils of said detent-magnets, respectively, and anunbranched portion passing through the coils of said relay, and asignaling-surface operated by said motor governing the current throughthe coils of said relay when both said branches are broken, and a maincircuit disconnected from the said controlling-circuit and operativelyconnected with the armature of the said relay, substantially asdescribed.

6. The combination of the mo tor and breakwheel opera-ted thereby, andtransmitting-circuit responsive to said break-wheel, and a detent forsaid motor with two detent-operating magnets included in separatebranches of a controlling-circuit disconnected from the saidtransmittingcireuit, and a relay having its coils included in theunbranched portion of said controlling-circuit and its armatureoperatively connected with the main transmitting-circuit, substantiallyas described.

7. The combination of the motor and breakwheel operated thereby and atransmittingcircuit responsive to said break-wheel with a detent forsaid motor, two detent-operating magnets included in separate branchesof a controllingcircuit disconnected from said transmitting-circuit, anda relay having its coils included in the unbranched portion of saidcontrolling-circuit, and a ground branch connected with the saidtransmitting-circuit controlled by the armature of said relay andprovided with circuit-closers controlled by the detent-operatingmagnets, substantially as described.

8. The combination of the motor and its detentand a signalingsurfaceoperated thereby with two detent-operating electro-magnets and armaturesand a relay-magnet and armature, a controlling-circuit including thecoils of said relaymagnet and havingtwo branches including the coils ofsaid detent-magnets, respectively, and being extended through severaldistinct localities, one of said branches being connected at pointsbetween said localities with contact-pieces co-operating with the saidsignaling-surface which governs the current passing through saidrelay-magnet when both of said branches are broken, and amain' circuitdisconnected from said controllingeircuit and operatively connected withthe armature of said relay, substantially as described.

9. The combination of the detent with the detent-controller normallyimpelled in one direction, but prevented from moving while the detent isengaged, an independent detentholder, as p; for retaining said detentdisengaged and at the same time permitting the detent-controller to bemoved into position to retain the detent disengaged, and an engagingpart of the motor which operates the said detent-holder and controller,as described,

whereby the latter permits re-engagement of the detent only after adefinite run of the motor, substantially as described.

10. The combination of the motor with its detent and a detent-controllernormally impelled in one direction, but prevented from moving while thesaid detent is engaged, the said motor being provided with a portionthat intermittingly engages the said detent-controller and moves thesame step by step toward the position to permit re-engagement of thedetent, and a secondary detent-controller, as T, which preventsengagement of the detent after the detent-controller is brought intoposition to permit such engagement, substantially as and for the purposedescribed.

11. The combination of the detent-support ing arm, as c, with thedetent-controller 0, having a notch or shoulder 0 and shoulder 0 bothcooperating with the detent and a toothed supporting portion 0 andactuatingteeth 0 operatedby the motor, substantially as and for thepurpose described.

12. The combination of the main transmitting-circuit, atransmitter-motor, and detent therefor with two detent-controllingmagnets and armatures and circuit-changers operated by said armaturesconnected in series with one another with said maintransmitting-circuit, whereby the operation of both magnets is requiredto make the portion of the main circuit controlled by saidcircuit-changers operative for transmission, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

MORRIS MARTIN.

lVitnesses:

J os. P. LIVERMORE, Lee. J. MALoNEY.

